The death toll from a shooting at a Mexican amateur baseball game has risen to three while authorities said the motive was linked to feuds between fuel thieves.
	The number of people wounded in Sunday's attack in the central state of Puebla also rose from six to 11 after officials received reports from hospitals, authorities said.
	Witnesses told investigators that armed men arrived in three vehicles, got out and opened fire on players and the crowd in the town of Acatzingo, 170 kilometres southeast of Mexico City.
	The first two fatalities were players. A 46-year-old man succumbed to his wound at a hospital yesterday, the prosecutor's office said.
	Two local teams - Reyes de Juarez and Felipe Angeles - were playing against each other in the finals of an amateur league.
	"There are reports that the origin of the incident was a dispute over control of thefts of oil or gas," the office said in a statement.
	One of the dead, Jose Luis Velez Robles, who died on the field, was apparently ..

Mexico baseball game attack linked to fuel thieves

PTI Automatic

A man who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group has stabbed a French policeman to death before he was killed in a dramatic police operation, sources close to the investigation said.
	A news agency linked to IS said yesterday the attack had been carried out by an "Islamic State fighter", days after posting a similar claim following the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
	French prosecutors have launched an anti-terror probe after the policeman and his partner were killed at their home in the Paris suburb of Magnanville.
	Witnesses told investigators the man stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holing up inside with the woman and the couple's three-year-old son.
	Loud detonations were heard at the scene as elite RAID police moved in following failed negotiations with the attacker, who claimed allegiance to IS while talking to officers, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.
	"The anti-terror department of the Paris prosecution service is taking into .

French cop and partner killed in 'IS-linked' attack

France cop killer claimed allegiance to IS: sources. (AFP)

French cop killer shot, woman's body found, child found

Migrants smugglers are now using luxury tour buses to move Central and South American migrants from Mexico's southern border to the United States, authorities said.
	Two buses carrying 102 migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador were intercepted yesterday in the north-central state of Zacatecas, the National Migration Institute said in a statement.
	The migrants had paid between USD 7,000 and USD 10,000 to be taken from the state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, to the northern border city of Reynosa, the statement said.
	The traffickers did not provide food or water for more than two days "to avoid stops and arrive faster and without delay to the northern border," it said.
	The institute said the use of "luxury" buses from the companies Turismos Crucero and Tours Tomaren marked a "new mode of operation" for traffickers.
	Under pressure from the United States, Mexico's government cracked down on illegal migration at its border with Guatemala in 2014 following a .

Migrant smugglers use tour buses in Mexico

Detonations heard at scene of French cop killing, police

Negotiations ongoing with French cop killer, unclear if

A man has taken the wife and son of a policeman hostage in the Paris suburbs after stabbing the officer to death, police sources said.
	The man was holed up with the hostages in the policeman's home in Magnanville, northwest of the French capital, late yesterday. Elite police were at the scene.
	The attacker stabbed the officer repeatedly outside the property as he returned home around 9 PM local time, sources said.

Man takes hostages in Paris suburb after killing policeman

A French police officer has been stabbed to death in front of his home in the Paris suburbs by a man who then holed up in the house, a police source said.
	Elite police have surrounded the residence in Magnanville, which is northwest of the French capital, the source said yesterday.
	It was not immediately clear if the suspect was holding any hostages.

French policeman stabbed to death outside home: source

Astronomers have discovered the largest planet outside our solar system orbiting two stars, at a distance that would make it potentially habitable for people, scientists announced today.
	A team of NASA astronomers that made the discovery using the Kepler space telescope revealed the findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, California.
	The gaseous planet -- dubbed Kepler-1647 b -- is the size of Jupiter and has a wide orbit, revolving around its two stars in 1,107 days, or around three years.
	The discovery is the eleventh of its kind since 2005.
	Planets that orbit two stars -- known as circumbinary planets -- are sometimes called "Tatooines," after the similar fictional planet in the movie Star Wars where Luke Skywalker was raised.
	Kepler-1647 b is further from its two stars than any other known circumbinary planet, placing it in an orbit that "puts the planet within the so-called habitable zone," a statement from San Diego State University (SDSU) ..

Scientists discover giant new planet orbiting two suns

A United Arab Emirates helicopter from the Saudi-led coalition backing government forces in Yemen crashed today, killing both crew, the military said of the second crash in two days.
	The Gulf federation's military command, in a brief statement published by the official WAM news agency, did not specify the type of helicopter, nor the circumstances and location of the crash.
	But witnesses told AFP the aircraft came down in Aden, Yemen's second city from which Shiite Huthi rebels were driven out by government forces last July.
	On Sunday, a UAE helicopter crashed into the sea killing both crew members, the general command said.
	It said the accident occurred during "a routine sortie over international waters," again without specifying the type of machine or location.
	The UAE is one of the pillars of the Sunni Arab coalition operating in Yemen since March 2015 in support of forces of the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi battling Iran-backed rebels and their allies.

UAE helicopter crash in Yemen kills 2 crew

The US Embassy in Banjul reopened for normal operations today after the Gambian government redeployed police guards it withdrew last week.
	The mission closed for all but essential services on Thursday after the protection force was withdrawn and Washington said it had "raised concern" with the Gambia over the matter.
	It was not clear why President Yahya Jammeh's government had taken this step, but Washington has criticised its rights record.
	Yesterday the embassy announced on its Facebook page that it would resume normal operations on Monday. On Monday members of the elite Police Intervention Unit were seen guarding the mission.
	A State Department official in Washington confirmed to AFP "that that operations are back to normal and the guards have returned to their posts."
	The Gambian and US authorities have however not explained the circumstances leading to the redeployment of the police guards.
	The spat comes amid controversy over Gambia's arrest and prosecution of a US citizen 

US reopens Gambia embassy after guards return

US Apache helicopters have hit an Islamic State target for the first time in Iraq, the Pentagon said today.
	"US Apache helicopters conducted the first strike against a Daesh target in Iraq in support of Iraqi Security Forces in the Tigris River Valley June 12," Defense Department spokesman Christopher Sherwood said, using an Arabic abbreviation for the IS group.
	"The Apache strike destroyed a Daesh vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) near Qayyarah, Iraq," he added. Qayyarah is south of Mosul, the IS group's main stronghold in Iraq.

'US Apache helicopters strike IS for first time in Iraq'

Rain thwarted England's bid for a 3-0 series whitewash of Sri Lanka as the third Test at Lord's ended in a draw today.
	The result saw England take the three-match series 2-0.
	Sri Lanka, set 362 to win, finished on 78 for one after rain, which had prevented any play before lunch on the final day, finally saw the umpires abandon the match as a draw at 5:12pm local time (1612 GMT).
	Dimuth Karunaratne was 37 not out and Kusal Mendis 17 not out after only 12.2 overs were possible today.
	Jonny Bairstow was named man-of-the-match and England's man of the series.
	Bairstow made a Test-best 167 not out in the first innings at Lord's and in the series as a whole scored 387 runs at an average of 129, including two hundreds.
	"To be back in England and hit the ground running was the main aim," said Bairstow, whose first stint as a Test player ended with him being dropped from the team.
	Bairstow has been in superb batting form since making 150 not out in his maiden Test century against South .

Cricket: Rain stymies England bid for Sri Lanka whitewash

The White House today demanded the Republican-controlled Congress pass legislation blocking extremists from obtaining assault weapons like the one used in the deadly shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
	"There are certain common sense things that Congress could do that would make it harder for any individual to get their hands on a weapon of war," said spokesman Josh Earnest following the Orlando shooting.
	"The president has been quite frustrated, and in some cases even angry, about congressional inaction," he said.
	The White House singled out the AR-15, an assault weapon that was used by Omar Mateen in a rampage that killed 49 revelers at the Pulse nightclub.
	Earnest said the weapon was designed for the battlefield, not for Florida's streets.
	For much of his eight years in office, Obama has butted heads with Congress over gun control.
	A previous ban on assault weapons was in place for a decade, but lapsed under George W. Bush's presidency.
	The White House blamed Republican .

White House demands Congress curb 'weapons of war'

Apple said today it was opening up its Siri digital assistant to outside applications, stepping up its artificial intelligence efforts to compete against rival services from Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
	The new feature will enable iPhone users to connect with non-Apple services to send messages, make payments and search photos, for example.
	"Now you'll be able to tell Siri send a WeChat," said Apple vice president Craig Federighi, referring to the Chinese messaging application.
	Federighi said Siri will also work with apps like Slack, WhatsApp, Uber and Lyft, for example.
	The announcement at Apple's annual developer conference in San Francisco marks a new approach for Apple, which has largely kept its services self-contained on the iOS mobile operating system.
	The new feature will debut on the iOS10 operating system expected later this year.
	Also opening to outside developers will be the Apple Maps application, which had a rocky debut marked by glitches in 2012.
	This will mean .

Apple opens up assistant Siri to outside applications

Marijuana-derived medicines became legal today in Macedonia, which joined over a dozen European countries that have already authorised the products for certain patients.
	Medicines containing less then 0.2 per cent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's main psychoactive ingredient, can now be prescribed by doctors and bought in pharmacies, the head of Macedonia's agency for medicines Marija Darkovska-Serafimovska told reporters.
	"This will help a huge number of Macedonian citizens that are fighting serious illnesses and have a need for treatment with nature-based products," Darkovska-Serafimovska said.
 	The medicines are available to patients battling health problems linked with cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
 	The marijuana-derived products are, however, only accessible under doctors' supervision and with a prescription.
 	"This is not a replacement for medical treatment," Health Minister Nikola Todorov said after parliament passed in May the new law allowing the ...

Medical marijuana becomes legal in Macedonia

The White House today demanded the Republican-controlled Congress pass legislation blocking extremists from obtaining assault weapons like the one used in the Orlando club shooting.
	"There are certain common sense things that Congress could do that would make it harder for any individual to get their hands on a weapon of war," said spokesman Josh Earnest following the Orlando shooting.
	"The president has been quite frustrated, and in some cases even angry, about congressional inaction," he said.

'Frustrated' White House demands Congress curb weapons of war

Chinese President Xi Jinping called his US counterpart Barack Obama today to express "deep condolences" over the 50 people killed by a gunman in a Florida gay nightclub, officials said.
	Xi "expressed deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the American people" and "deep condolences" to the victims of the attack, the foreign ministry said on its website.
	He joined an international outpouring of sympathy over the worst mass shooting in US history, after condemnation by Obama, Pope Francis and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
	Reacting to the latest in a long series of mass gun killings in the US, Obama said the FBI was "appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism".
	"Although it's still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate," he said, later ordering flags to be flown at half-mast.

China's Xi sends 'deep 'condolences' over US club massacre

Fiji's ambassador to the United Nations was elected president of the General Assembly today, pledging to put climate change and sustainable development at the top of the agenda.
	Ambassador Peter Thomson beat out Cyprus's former deputy minister for European affairs, Andreas Mavroyiannis, by a vote of 94 to 90 in the 193-country assembly.
	It was the first time a representative from the Pacific island states was chosen for the largely honorific post in the UN's 71-year history.
	"It's a great moment for the Pacific islands," Thomson told the General Assembly.
	"We bring special perspectives on climate change and on oceans issues," he said. "You can expect me to be vocal on these issues."
	Fiji was the first country to ratify the Paris climate deal on global warming.
	Thomson, who has been Fiji's UN ambassador since 2010, said he would also seek to build momentum for the UN's new development agenda, which lays out 17 global goals.
	He succeeds Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft as assembly ...

Fiji envoy elected UN assembly chief

The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said today agents were "highly confident" that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was "radicalized," at least in part through information he found online.
	James Comey said it was still not clear if Mateen was part of an established extremist network or which group may have inspired him, but he told reporters: "We'll leave no stones unturned and we'll work all day and all night to understand the path to that terrible night."
	Forty-nine people were killed and 53 others wounded in the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando in the early hours of Sunday. Mateen, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group during the attack, was killed in a shootout with police.

AFP

AFP

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